OAS ANTI-CORRUPTION MECHANISM ADOPTS REPORT ON THE PLURINATIONAL STATE OF BOLIVIA

On September 14, 2012, at its Twentieth Meeting, the Committee of Experts of the Mechanism for Follow-Up to the Implementation of the Inter-American Convention against Corruption (MESICIC), adopted a Report on the Implementation in Bolivia of various provisions of the Inter-American Convention against Corruption. This is the fourth such report that has been issued by the MESICIC in relation to Bolivia’s implementation of this Convention.

A significant portion of the report focused on examination of those oversight bodies in the Plurinational State of Bolivia with responsibility for the prevention, detection, punishment and eradication of acts of corruption. Accordingly, the report examines the following government instititutions: the Ministry for Institutional Transparency and Fight against Corruption (MTILCC); Public Ministry (Ministerio Público); the Judicial Branch through the Council of the Magistracy and the Supreme Court of Justice; Prosecutor General of the State (Procuraduría General del Estado) (PGE); and the Financial Intelligence Unit (Unidad de Investigaciones Financieras) (UIF). 

The examination was carried out taking into account Bolivia’s response to a questionnaire as well as information gathered during on on-site visit conducted between March 26 and 29, 2012, by the Technical Secretariat and members of the review subgroup for Bolivia, made up of Ecuador and the United States. During that visit, the review team met with representatives of government institutions as well with representatives of civil society organizations, the private sector, professional associations, academics, and researchers on issues of relevance to the fight against corruption. 

Some of the recommendations formulated to Bolivia for its consideration in relation to the foregoing oversight bodies address purposes such as the following: 

Providing the oversight bodies (MTILCC, Public Ministry, Judicial Branch and the UIF), with the financial and human resources necessary for the adequate fulfillment of its functions and responsibilities; and make the necessary arrangements with other States and cooperation organizations in order to obtain the required technical cooperation.  

With respect to the MTILCC, considering the adoption of the necessary provisions for the application, among others, of the provisions of Law No. 004 that require regulation; of the Integrated Anticorruption and Recovery of State Property Information System (SIIARBE); and of the System for the Protection of Whistleblowers and Witnesses. 

With respect to the Public Ministry, appointing the Attorney General and the District Prosecutors in accordance with the Political Constitution of the State; increasing the number of specialized anticorruption prosecutors designated pursuant to Law No. 004; and strengthening the Public Ministry Internet portal. 

With respect to the Judicial Branch, designation of anticorruption judges and creation of the specialized anticorruption courts required by Law No. 004; carrying out a study on the low number of corruption cases that result in a judgment; and promoting the use of the IANUS database system. 

With respect to the PGE, establishing the Departmental offices responsible for carrying out the functions and responsibilities of the PGE in the respective Departments; and contributing, together with the MTILCC and other competent bodies, in the drafting of legislation in the area of transparency and the fight against corruption. 

With respect to the UIF, participating in the public accountability process, in which all public entities are required to take part; and maintaining statistics on the activities of the UIF related, among others, to the detection and investigation of acts of corruption. 

In addition, the report considered as useful for the purposes combating corruption, the best practices currently applied by Bolivia with respect to the execution of performance guarantees/bonds, as a requirement to contract with the State; the creation of the National Council against Corruption, Illicit Enrichment, and Money-Laundering, for the purposes, among others, of defining State anticorruption policies in a coordinated manner; the creation of the Bolivian Institute for Studies in Transparency and Fight against Corruption (IBEC), which, among others, carries our studies in transparency, corruption and ethics; and the competition titled “The Worst Process of My Life”, created to improve the service provided to the public by public institutions. 

In addition to the recommendations formulated to the oversight bodies, the report also followed-up on the implementation of recommendations formulated to Bolivia in previous reports, making a determination as to which recommendations had been satisfactorily implemented, which required additional attention, and which required reformulation.  

Recommendations that have been satisfactorily considered by Bolivia include those related to the creation of the National Council against Corruption, Illicit Enrichment, and Money-Laundering; the public accountability process in which all public entities are require to participate; the strengthening of the verification of sworn statements of assets and liabilities; and the criminalization of illicit enrichment, among others. 

Some of the recommendations formulated to Bolivia in earlier reports that remain outstanding, or which were reformulated, address purposes such as, the adoption of principles of ethics by public institutions, which address, among others, conflicts of interest, the preservation of public resources, and obligation to report acts of corruption; the implementation of the System for the Protection of Whistleblowers and Witnesses provided for by Law No. 004; continued strengthening of the process of receipt, handling and verification of the sworn statements of assets and liabilities; the formal designation of the Comptroller General; and the adoption of the laws on access to information and social oversight.  

During this Twentieth Meeting, similar reports were adopted for Brazil, El Salvador, Mexico and Paraguay. The report on Bolivia adopted by the Committee, as well as the aforementioned countries, are available at:  http://www.oas.org/juridico/english/mesicic4_rep.htm